Carpathia IV: Episode 161 - Growing Closer
Brig, NCCS Shadowdancer
Baal strode to the brig doors and placed his hand on the reader. After keying in the code, the doors slid open, where he found two cells occupied, the nearest with Nyana, curiously with a folding chair sitting in front of it. He couldn't see into the farther one, due to the angle, but he presumed that Lamia must be in that one. Nyana stood, having a good look at Baal when he entered. Her face quickly went sour as soon as she caught his eye. With a dismissive flick of her tongue, she plopped back down on her bed and put her feet up, making a conspicuous display of ignoring him.
Clearly, nobody was using the mystery folding chair, so Baal thought he may as well make use of it.
Baal: May I?
The guard nodded and Baal picked up the chair and moved it to Lamia's cell. It appeared she didn't notice that he entered, for only the clunk of the folding chair on the deck made her look up. As soon as she saw Baal, she leaped from her bed.
Lamia: Baal Morningstar, right? I'm pleased you agreed to see me.
Baal sat and crossed his legs, leaning back with his arm draped over the chair, a much more relaxed air than the one Aire projected only just an hour before.
Baal: How could I refuse? Our first meeting was intriguing enough, so I had to come for this. Besides, the Code does demand that I agree even if I didn't want to.
Lamia's ears twitched as she cocked her head to the side.
Lamia: So you have the Five Tenants as well?
Baal: We do...wait. Did you say five?
Lamia nodded, but with a perplexed eyebrow raised.
Lamia: Yes, the Five Tenants of the Demonic Code. "A demon shall strive to be educated to the will of the Great and Mighty Empress Lazmaedia..."
Before Lamia even finished her first tenant, Baal was already shaking his head.
Baal: No, no no, definitely not. First of all, it's the Ten Tenants of the Demonic Code and absolutely none of them have anything to do with Lazmaedia. Hang on...
Baal jumped out of his chair and rushed behind the brig's control console.
Baal: You need a correct copy. I'll have to print it because they won't let me give you any electronic devices. We have a database of the Vashta language, so I'll just need to apply the translation.
Moments later, the printer spit out a single sheet of paper. After snatching it from the console, he took it to Lamia and slid it under the energy beams that stood between them. Lamia, with a suspicious eye on Baal the entire time, kneeled and picked it up.
Lamia: One. A demon shall act with compassion and empathy toward all sentient creatures. Two. A demon shall strive to encourage harmony and justice. Three. A demon shall not hesitate to fight to defend others from harm...
Baal: My guess is that Lazmaedia modified some of them and got rid of the ones she didn't like. The first demon, at least that we know of, arrived on my planet when he was a child and he had a copy of these with him. That was about 2000 years ago.
Baal couldn't be sure if Lamia was listening, as she had her nose buried in the paper throughout his explanation. Even when she spoke, she still held the paper in front of her face.
Lamia: 2000 years ago? How could you possibly know that?
Baal: The demons of my planet are meticulous record-keepers. I guess some of that rubbed off on me, seeing as how I am in charge of stellar cartography on this ship.
Lamia finally lowered the paper and gave Baal a careful glare from his head down to his feet.
Lamia: And what of you? From what I see, you're not a typical demon. Your hair. The art on your horn. No sword. Do you follow these tenants?
Baal: I do. At least, I try to. The code is good and I willingly follow it. As for the rest, things like the sword, there is no code of dress or appearance of any kind. As far as I'm concerned, that's just window dressing. Others choose to wear common demon accoutrements and that's fine. Not for me.
Lamia paused, for quite awhile, giving Baal enough time to sit in his chair and make himself comfortable again. While he waited for a response, Lamia alternated between scanning the paper and giving him quizzical looks.
Lamia: And your master is Captain Valro?
Baal: Eh, sort of, but not really. He's my commanding officer. You might say my master is more of an idea. To join the Exploration Force, I had to take an oath to defend the New Carpathia Commonwealth of Planets from all enemies, amongst other things. I took that oath gladly.
Lamia went silent again, continuing to study the paper. This time, however, Baal didn't wait for her response.
Baal: A long time ago, on my planet, demons were treated a bit like slaves. Nobody ever asked what a demon wanted. Nobody ever asked how a demon felt. It was just orders. Go there. Do this. Do that. That started to change during King Riven's time and changed even more the first time Carpathians showed up. We have full rights to choose our own paths our lives.
Lamia looked up and still, for a moment, remained silent, though this time, Baal waited for her to speak.
Baal: Even to wear your hair like that and make carvings into your horn?
Baal gave a grin and a chuckle at this.
Baal: Ha, a lot of the demons certainly don't like it, especially the older ones, but they have no say in how I live my life. Most of us do choose to follow the code. It is a good code. Maybe I can ask if Captain Azrael would speak with you. He knows a lot about both the old ways and the new. I can also ask Captain Valro about possibly getting your swords back if you want.
By now, Baal was accustomed by Lamia's long pauses whenever he finished talking and this time was no different.
Lamia: I thank you for taking the time to speak with me. If Captain Azrael would deign to grant me an audience, I will take that. However, I shall not be needing my swords. Nyana!
Baal heard a clatter from Nyana's cell, the sound of someone suddenly snapping to attention the same way that one would upon hearing a racoon knocking over a trash can.
Nyana: What is this insolence? You shall address me properly!
Lamia: The Ninth Tenant of the Demonic Code reads as thus: A demon serving under duress shall not be bound by any oath. I shall no longer serve you.
Nyana: Duress? What is this nonsense? You're a demon! You don't have duress!
Lamia: Lazmaedia's demonic code is a lie and I did not pledge to serve you under my own free will.
Nyana let forth a growl, but before she could retort, there was the sound of crackling electricity and a shriek, which was usually the result of ill-advised contact with the energy bars that constituted the cell doors.
Baal: She'll be out for a bit, but she'll be fine. Lamia, with your consent, I'd like to share our conversation with Captain Valro. At the very least, I think I might convince him to move you somewhere farther away from Nyana.
Lamia: You have my consent, Sir Baal Morningstar.
Baal: My pleasure, Madam Lamia. I'm sure Captain Valro is very busy, but hopefully he'll be able to see me soon.
Baal stood and, with a grandiose smile and a flourish, gave Lamia a bow, who returned his with a simple bow of her own.
Cadet Quarters, NCCS Shadowdancer
Mikado's eyelids fluttered as he leaned back in his chair. A long, eventful day it was indeed, dealing with the disgruntled, entitled vashtari in the atrium. Pleased though that he was to do his part in helping quell the many incidents that occurred, he couldn't help but think the security guard life wasn't for him. With his significant martial arts training, he certainly didn't fall short in the physical requirements for such a position, but he failed to take into account the mental toll it took.
His charge on the ship was to help out where needed. Already, he'd spent time on the bridge, working communications, and shadowed Amenaru for a bit on operations. He hadn't yet had the opportunity for some engineering duty and thought he might like to bring up the possibility with Nalma soon.
Determined to engage in some passive, light-hearted entertainment before going to bed, a palette-cleanser for the day, Mikado forced himself to keep his eyes open and enjoy the Buster Bunny videos on his computer that Nalma recommended to him. All his musings came to an end when the door slid open and Darius trudged in, uniform filthy and his fur looking like someone had just run him through a tumble dryer. Without so much as a hello, he peeled off his chest plate and tossed it aside.
Mikado: Darius, you look awful. Are you okay?
Darius continued disrobing, a rare thing for him to do indeed, while someone was watching.
Darius: I've seen a lot of shit, you know, from my pre-med classes in high school all the way up to now, but I never thought I'd see someone try to murder one of my patients right in front of me.
Mikado was, of course, very well acquainted with the speed at which one can remove all clothing from one's person when motivated to do so, but still Darius was impressively fast, getting clear down to his skivvies in just a few seconds.
Darius: Good night.
Even if Mikado could think of something to say in the moment, he didn't have the time, for Darius had already disappeared into the bedroom. He decided it would be best not to disturb Darius and let him have some time to fall asleep before he came into the room, so he could do so making very little noise. Already in his underwear, Mikado wouldn't have to bother with any closet doors or other such banging around.
After another half hour of mindless videos, Mikado could no longer keep his eyes open and groaned out of his chair. It took a few tries to jab at the button to open the bedroom door, but he was finally successful and he teetered lazily inside. Right away, he noticed Darius, who not only couldn't be bothered to close his bed shutter, but didn't even manage to slip himself under his blankets. Though Mikado often found himself a bit perplexed by the behavior of Carpathians, he knew bad dreams when he saw it, and Darius twitched frequently, letting out a squeak each time.
Mikado glanced at his own bed and then back to Darius, wondering what a Carpathian might do. It didn't take him long to realize that he had no idea, so he decided that he would do what a tokki would do. Mikado climbed into Darius's bed, slipping deftly in behind him, and pressed his body close to Darius's soft, fuzzy back. Right away, Darius stopped twitching and Mikado drifted off to sleep within just a few minutes.
Darius awoke to a dark room. For a moment, he thought he was back home in his own bed, but the hum of the engines quickly reminded him where he really was. Then, he realized the room wasn't entirely dark, with little bits of light filtering through the seam of the bedroom door. He'd forgotten to close his bed shutter. As he reached out, pawing into the darkness, he realized that something else was pressing up against his body and popped one eye open. There wasn't much to see, for the dim light wasn't enough to illuminate anything, but as he felt around, his paw came across an arm. Someone was in the bed with him, and the tokki ear that brushed up against his own was enough to tell him who it was. With a little smile, he closed his eye again and flipped what covering he could over his body and went back to sleep.
Commissioned art in this episode from:
AvareonArt
Zelbunnii
Less_End
Thatwildmary
Colourbrand
Falke2009
